Bluewater Lake State Park, Prewitt, NM; April 8-13, 2014

On the way to Bluewate

On the way to Bluewater

To Bluewater - houses beneath the rocks

It seems as though the country just gets more and more beautiful the farther west we go. I am constantly awed by it. Our campground is only six miles off the interstate, but 40 miles from the nearest town. In that six miles, the road winds up into the Zuni Mountains and is at the peak elevation of 7,400 feet. The oldest rocks exposed at Bluewater Lake State Park are sandstone and were deposited about 145-168 million years ago at the base of the canyon, which may be seen just a short walk 

On the way to Bluewater

from our site. It feels as though you are a hundred miles from any where. The campground is on open range, which means the camp sites are not off-limits to the wild horses and cattle roaming around and you need to watch where you step. It is a bit of a stark campground and has had its share of difficulties – the rangers have had to lock the restrooms at night due to the vandal activity, but they do leave the pit toilets open. There is little shade here, and the campground is all on a slope, so leveling an RV is a bit of a challenge but during our stay, the weather was cool (27 degrees one morning and only 50 by 9:30!) and delightful. The main plants 

Beautiful beadwork by modern artist

are cottonwood trees, piñon (peen yawn') pines, and juniper and the birds abound. I got photos of a few but have only identified a Western Bluebird. What a pretty thing that was!

Since we were so far from anywhere, we only went to Gallup once, but it was a delightful and yummy day. We visited the Gallup Cultureal Museum, which is housed in the restored 1918 Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Station, and showcases the art and history of native peoples of the area as well as the building of the railroads and westward expansion. There are also beautiful baskets, pottery, Kachina dolls, beadwork, and other art forms created by modern day

Pretty mosaic-like picture?

Native craftsmen. Outside the front of the building stand two statues – one of revered Navajo chief Manuelito, and the other of a code talker from WW II. It was quite a depiction of two Navajo men, both warriors but widely divided by time and methods.

Chief Manuelito was one of the principal war chiefs of the Dine' people before, during, and after the Long Walk Period ( 1864 deportation of the Navajo people by the United States of America. Navajos were forced to walk up to 

Made of cardboard!

thirteen miles a day at gunpoint from their reservation in what is now Arizona to eastern New Mexico. Some 53 different forced marches occurred between August 1864 and the end of 1866. [from Wikipedia.org])

The story of the “Navajo Code Talkers begins in 1940 when a small group of Chippewas and Oneidas became a part of the radio communications 32nd Infantry Division. Soon after, Sac and Fox tribes joined in the ranks as combat radiomen. The complexity of Navajo linguistics allowed it to become an ideal choice to be used in code due to the lack of documentation made available for learning to speak the language and ability for the same words to mean multiple things based on sound. The legacy of the Navajo Code Talkers will continue as many documentaries and stories have been shared about their journey since it’s declassification during Reagan’s Administration.” (from http://navajocodetalkers.org/) Working around the clock during the first two days of Iwo Jima, six networks of Navajo code talkers transmitted more than 800 messages without error. Major Howard Connor avowed that without the code talkers, Iwo Jima would never have been taken by the Marines.
After our time at the cultural center, we stopped at Bill Malone's Trading Post. I was a

Horse and Native American woman

Beautiful baskets

Beautiful pottery

Sand painters

Warriors of different times

Old adobe buildings in Gallup

bit apprehensive at first, after all the times I had heard about trading posts having low quality items and touristy junk, but oh, my! There were so many beautifully made pieces of quality turquoise jewelry, hand-woven rugs, beautiful baskets, and intricate bead work that it took my breath away. From what I could tell, the prices were very realistic, and the items worth every penny. In spite of the daughter of the proprietor having no expectations of a big sale, she spent time with us, told us about some of the pieces and artists, and we discussed two of my favorite artists - old man L'leeyka and Charles Loloma. I saw some of their pieces back in the early to mid 1970's and am still

Mountain bluebird?

drooling. L'leeyka carved exquisite fetishes and I just looked up a ring on the web made by Loloma and it was only $12,500 – guess I should have bought that magnificent bracelet back in '72 for a few hundred dollars when I had the chance...

From Malone's Trading Post we went Genero's Café, an absolutely amazing Mexican 

Wildflowers

restaurant we found on TripAdvisor and what a meal! We had green chili stew, tamales, and chili relleno's with posole, but, unlike the soup we are accostomed to, it was plain hominy that had been cooked in pork stock, drained and served – fluffy, fat white hominy kernels that were bursting with flavor. And the salsa? It was the most flavorful we have ever eaten. Near nuclear in heat, but fantastic.

As we wandered through downtown Gallup, we saw the murals on buildings painted by local Native Americans. There were nine murals and all were evocative of life in Gallup 

Canyon near our site

through the years and the Native American heritage.

It was a wonderful day and sometime I'd like to return, but now it's time to move on. Next stop: Root 66 outside Holbrook, AZ. Another new state for me!

Santa Rosa Lake State Park, Roswell signsSanta Rosa, NM; April 7-8, 2014

Irrigated pecan trees

We had stopped at Santa Rosa last year, and since it was on our way to Bluewater Lake, it was a good fit. On our way, Rich noticed one of the trailer tires was low, so we stopped in a little town called Artesia to get it fixed. Artesia was named in 1903 for the artesian aquifer benneath the town. This water helped the town thrive until the 1920's, when the aquifer was significantly depleted. Now, the major draw is oil, but we saw fields of what I believe are pecan trees – some fields flooded and some waiting for irrigation. While at the tire store, one of the men there mentioned that a meth lab in town had blown up the night before, but we saw no evidence of it. We stopped at a little Mexican cafe restaurant called La 

La Herradura

Herradura on our way out of town – it was in a neighborhood that had seen hard times, and the cafe was in a metal building. We persisted because of the great reviews on TripAdvisor and Yelp and one of the fellows at the tire store and we were happy we had. We had some wonderful chorizo and egg burritos and the best (and spiciest) red sauce either of us have ever had.

After leaving Artesia, we drove through what seemed like a pump-jack forest in the middle of the desert – and it appeared that they were all

Big feed lot

pumping oil for all they were worth, and one of the largest feed lots I've ever seen. Roswell was a hoot - all sorts of extraterrestrial figures and the like. I almost wished we had been able to stop and take more photos! After Roswell we drove across more desert, one spot had an irrigated field that had a crop of some sort growing and that was quite a contrast to the surroundings. Eventually mountains began to show on the horizon, then nothing but desert again with a snow fence along the road. As we neared Santa Rosa, the dark clouds began to pile up and we expected at least a gully washer if not a tornado, but nary a drop of water fell to the ground. These dry thunderstorms are often the culprits in wildfires.

Roswell signs

We arrived at Santa Rosa Lake with no further problems and set up quickly as storm clouds began to bear down on us. Just as we finished, it started to sprinkle, winds whipped up and the temperature dropped from the high 80's to 56. In spite of the questionable weather, there was little rain and the storm seemed to blow over within minutes. We had a nice, wide-open site this time and I realized why I hadn't really liked the place before: there was a big berm across the back of our small site and because we were in a pull-through site, I felt claustrophobic! Go figure. We arrived fairly late (for us), and since we

Roswell signs

had to unhook because of the amount of leveling we had to do we decided to try Almanza's Mexican restaurant since it had fairly good reviews on TripAdvisor, and there isn't much to choose from in Santa Rosa. Unfortunately, the reviews were about two stars too high and our meal was lousy. Of course, we won't waste away without dinner one evening!

After a good night's sleep, we'll head out to Bluewater Lake in Prewitt, NM.

See the two store signs? Notice the street light

Little green man outside a cell phone store

A normal-looking building in Roswell

Roswell 

Roswell little green men

Brantley Lake State Park, Carlsbad, NM; April 2-7, 2014

A beautiful New Mexico sunset

We had planned on leaving around 10 to drive to Brantley, but we awoke at 6:30 AM and were worried about the winds forecast to begin mid-morning, so hooked up and got on the road. We stopped at a little place called Mingo's for breakfast burritos – usually a good choice, especially with positive reviews on TripAdvisor. Unfortunately, in this case, we didn't think the chorizo and egg burritos we got were anything to brag about.

After we left Mingo's, Rich noticed the engine light was on. The Chevy dealership in Pecos, TX is the nearest we could find, and will hope it's the ongoing problem with the sensor that monitors the diesel fluid quality. We've had it show up three times previously and a dealership finally replaced the module, so we had hoped it was all fixed. We love our Duramax diesel, but are getting annoyed with the continuing problems we are having.

We arrived at the Pecos dealership and they checked and agreed it was the diesel fluid sensor, said all was fine, and turned the light off. By the time we got finished with the dealership the wind had picked up and we traveled the rest of the way to Carlsbad in 25-35 mph winds.

One of the cattle in the road on the way to camp

The campground is about 20 miles outside Carlsbad and there is absolutely nothing around except the high desert, oil-wells, and, since it is open range, cattle. There were working pump-jacks scattered through the area and every once-in-a-while, we would smell the oil stench, but the wind would change and it would be gone. We are camped on a rise in the Chihuahuan Desert and can see for miles in all directions. It is about 80 degrees, 12% humidity, 101 in the sun, and 3,300 feet elevation, but the wind is gusting at 25 mph and it's wonderful to relax in the shade, which is just what we did! To give you an idea of what 12% humidity is like, I took a sandwich made from fresh white sandwich

Pecos river near camp

bread outside, and by the time I set it on the table, and sat down myself, the bread was drying out. By the time I finished, the outside of the bread was like a piece of sandpaper!

The campground is surprisingly pretty with lots of wildflowers blooming. Happily, the restrooms and showers were new and fairly well maintained. One evening we went to a stargazing program and watched the International Space Station cross the sky as well as learned some new facts about some of the constellations. It was a        wonderful spot since we were miles away from the nearest city and the city wasn't all that

Flowers in site

large meaning there wasn't much light pollution.

 In spite of the harsh conditions, there are a surprising (to me, at least) number of flowering plants – few of which I can identify even with my books. The predominant foliage seems to be sage, juniper, and piñon pines, and several different kinds of low-growing shrubs with red, purple, yellow, and white blooms. And the purple blossoms on the mescal plant are amazing!

Another flower in the site

Rich enjoying the shade

We had planned on going to the Living Desert Thursday, but 35 mph winds were forecast so we changed plans and headed to Carlsbad Caverns. Thank goodness we aren't in Albuquerque – they're having 60 mph winds there!

The caverns are nestled in the Guadalupe Mountains, where peaks rise from 3,595 feet to 6,520 feet in the largest and wettest desert in North America, the Chihuahuan Desert. The drive up to the Visitor Center was a constantly changing display of high desert vegetation and geological formations. Once we got inside, it was like a different world.

Carlsbad Caverns is one of over 300 limestone caves in a fossil reef laid down by an inland sea 250 to 280 million years ago. Twelve to fourteen thousand years ago, American Indians lived in the Guadalupe Mountains; some of their cooking ring sites and pictographs have been found within the present day boundaries of the park. Around 1898, Jim White probably entered the caverns for the first time and it was he first explored the depths of the cavern. It was also Jim White who worked tirelessly to bring them to the notice of the public and government,

On the way to the Visitor Center

and if memory serves, he was the first park manager after it was made a National Park (or perhaps it was when it was made a National Monument). In 1938, the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) established a camp at Rattlesnake Springs and the buildings are used by the park
today. For about 50 years after Jim White's discovery, bat guano was mined from the caverns; in fact, the first visitors were lowered into the caverns in the very baskets in which the guano was collected. I suspect it was rather aromatic
despite any cleaning done...

CCC camp

I can't begin to tell you how cool (it's also a cool 56 degrees) this place is. If you are up to it, take the ranger-lead tour which goes 


through the King's Palace as well as the self-guided tour through the Big Room. Each one takes about 1 ½ hours, but the King's Palace requires an 823' (steep) descent to the lower level as well as a like ascent on the trip out. The 1 ¼ mile walk through the cavern is breathtaking. The formations inside the caverns were simply beautiful. The Big Room, with floor space of more than 600,000 square feet, is the largest known limestone chamber in the Western Hemisphere. Here, stalagtites stalagmites abound in many different forms: there are soda straws, draperies, popcorn, and columns. We saw shapes that reminded us of

Lion's Tail decoration

totem poles, a dragon, Jabba the Hut, a fairy-land of pixies, a lion's tail, and all sorts of other things. Around every turn in the path, something new and beautiful could be seen. We spent three hours in the caverns but could easily have spent twice the time if we hadn't had Dickens waiting back at camp. It's a wonderland of shapes and textures that has to be experienced. I have to admit, in spite of my enthusiasm to go to Mammoth Cave, I enjoyed Carlsbad more, simply because we took a self-guided tour and could poke along and read all the signs, take all the photos we wanted, and really get a feel for the place, unlike Mammoth with their “hurry along” tours.

Friday, we headed to the Living Desert State Park, which is built on a bluff on the outskirts of town and is a fascinating place and it was a totally spectacular day in a totally different way – the caverns were made over the course of hundreds of thousands years and the park's gardens were man-made. None-the-less, the gardens were remarkable. The park is dedicated to interpretation of the Chihuahuan Desert 

One of the stalagmites

and in addition to the beautifully done indoor exhibits detailing the changes undergone to the area, there is. a 1.3 mile self-guided tour through which visitors can see the differences between desert sand hills, arroyos, and then higher into the piñon-juniper areas. The grounds were beautifully laid out and were chock-full of the plants that grow in the Chihuanuan Desert. The landscaping has been done in a completely natural way, although there are signs identifying the different plants. It is amazingly well done. Along with the plants is the living museum, which has more than 40 native species and hundreds of succulents from around the word. There are songbirds, hawks, eagles, turkeys, and owls. Bobcats, mountain lions, bison, kit fox, badger, mule deer, pronghorn, elk, and bison also make their home at the park. The website suggests allowing an hour and a half to visit,

At the Living Desert

but of course, I dragged my feet and we ended up spending closer to two and a half hours.

We did find a wonderful Mexican Restaurant called Junior's. I have to admit, it gave us pause – it is on the outskirts of Carlsbad and sports bars on the windows and doors, but at 2 in the afternoon, it had six vehicles in the customer parking lot. We exchanged glances, shrugged our shoulders, and went in. The cashier/hostess was pleasant, the restaurant clean, and the customers friendly. The couple next to us told us about some of the items on the menu. We took their advice and Rich ordered the steak and eggs 

At the Living Desert

while I ordered the tamales with green sauce. The salsa
they brought was some of the best we have ever eaten salsa was among the best we have ever had.

Who knew juniper lived so long?

Not the traditional salsa – it was loaded with chunks of tomato, peppers and avocado and the flavor was tremendous.

Next we'll head to Santa Rosa for an overnight, then on to Bluewater Lake, near Gallup.

My first photo of a Roadrunner!

Parkview RV, Fort Stockton, TX; March 31-April 2, 2014

RV Park in Ft. Stockton

Tough little flower in site

We didn't expect much from this one and we weren't disappointed. The restrooms were barely ok at a glance, but the ladies room had no tissue from one afternoon to the next day, one shower had only cold water, and the other had water only from the handicap accessible faucet. The rest of the park was as expected – all sand and no trees or shrubs, just the tough little wildflowers that somehow manage to grow and bloom. Hookups and wi-fi worked, and the price was right.

Another tough little flower 

Visitor Center

Visitor Center

Visitor Center

Grey Mule Saloon

Grey Mule Saloon

We spent two nights here since the drive here was six hours and we battled a broadside wind nearly the entire way. Luckily there was a little museum we could visit so we whiled away a couple of hours there. Most of it was closed for renovation but we enjoyed what we saw. The Annie Riggs Memorial Museum is housed in an adobe structure built at the turn of the 20^th century and was originally a hotel and boarding house run by a frontier woman of the same name. The museum is 13 rooms loaded with artifacts from the early 1900's as well as archaeological finds from a site eight miles outside town which include tusks of a Colombian Mammoth and projectile points. Next to the front door of the museum sits Sheriff A.J. Royal's desk with blood stains remaining from his murder in 1894. It was thought that local businessmen drew straws for the honor of killing the unpopular sheriff and no one was ever charged with his murder.

Annie Riggs Museum

Butter Churn

On the east side of town is the site of the historic fort for which the town is named. There are only three buildings remaining from the “new” fort built in the 1860's The military presence here began in 1858 but was withdrawn during the Civil War. Confederate troops occupied the fort briefly and by the end of the war, little was left of the post.

Hoosier Cabinet

A true ice box

The post protected travelers and settlers on the numerous roads and trails (including the stage lines) heading west to Mexico and California from San Antonio. The abundant water supply of Comanche Springs made Fort Stockton a regular stop on these frontier crossroads, and it was here that these trails intersected the Comanche War Trail.

In spite of the sadly stark RV park, the sunrise the morning we left was spectacular. Just goes to show you can find beauty where you least expect it.

Gout Stool

Our next stop is Brantley Lake State Park in Carlsbad, New Mexico! Can't wait.

Old gas pump

Packard organ

Adobe outside 

Location of Commanche Springs

Beauty and the beast (the dumpster in the foreground)